2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest, Part II

National Geographic’s annual photo competition is still open, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 17. The Grand Prize Winner will receive $7,500, publication in National Geographic Magazine, and a feature on National Geographic’s Instagram account. Contest runners have allowed me to choose a few more of this year’s contest entries for display here. The captions below were written by the individual photographers and were lightly edited for style.

Hidden Gates. "An amazing floating iceberg with a beautiful arch, seen while sailing in western Greenland. One of the best days spent in the Arctic, with no wind and no clouds; almost still water allowed us to see great reflections."#

Patterns of Glacial River. "Aerial view of the bridge and the Glacial River in Iceland. The ground-up rock from the mountain below the glacier mixes in the water giving it color that you see in this image."#

Dewy Dragonfly. "On a cool morning in August, I was out looking for insects and came across this very dew-covered wandering glider dragonfly. He was a captive model that gave me a fair amount of time to get some nice shots. I was in heaven!"#

Animals Crossing Bridge. "Singapore, also called a city in the forest, has built the first ecological bridge in Southeast Asia to restore the ecological connection between two nature reserves which were divided by the expressway, allowing wildlife to expand their habitat, genetic pool and survival chances. It helps animals to cross over to the other side to find food or mate without risking death."#

Fast Food. "After many hours with this mother fox, I gained her trust. I noticed her posture changed all of a sudden and in the blink of an eye she pounced into a hole and came out with a rabbit for her kits. As she left to deliver the food, she looked back at me as if to show off her catch—an amazing wildlife experience."#

First Rains. "Situated on the boundary of Amboseli National Park's Lake Amboseli in Kenya. During the dry season it is completely dried out—cracked earth as far as the eye can see. It is an amazing sight. Searching for elephants crossing the pan, I witnessed this amazing storm sweeping over the parched landscape."#

Curious Calf. "It's somewhat impossible to describe what it was like being in the water with humpback whales. It felt like it was just a dream and there were times, like when this calf swam directly towards me, the time seemed to slow. I could have sworn we made eye contact, and the curiosity emitting from this beautiful being was palpable. Maybe he was trying to figure out what we were. He must have been thinking: 'What could these tiny creatures be that just descended into the water with me and my mom?'"#

Curious Ursus. "A curious female polar bear stands on her hind legs to sniff the wind. In the summer of 2016, the pack ice retreated well to the north of the Svalbard archipelago and it was there we found bears searching for ringed and bearded seals."#

Lan Ha Bay. "Lan Ha Bay is in the largest of the 367 islands called Cát Bà, a part of Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam. There is a small floating village around Lan Ha Bay where people are living and farming fish."#

Supporters of the presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto took to the streets of Jakarta, clashing violently with riot police, after his loss to incumbent President Joko Widodo was announced on Wednesday.